Report estimates huge cost of cleaning up Great Lakes

JUST in time for the holidays, a team of experts has announced its wish list for cleaning up the world's largest body of inland waters, the North American Great Lakes. Convened a year ago by President Bush, the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration of National Significance was tasked with reconciling the jumble of competing needs of the region's people and ecosystems.

The Great Lakes, they conclude in their report released on Monday, need a lot of help. Though some of the most egregious polluters have cleaned up their acts already, the lakes remain under threat from more insidious problems such as invasive species, habitat loss and sediments laden with toxic chemicals. The report lays out a long list of steps to reverse the trend and restore the lakes to good health. It estimates the cost of recovery at around $20 billion over the next five years, mostly to upgrade sewage systems ...

To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.

To continue reading this article, log in or subscribe to New Scientist